Lactoferrin – the ‘Swiss army knife’ of the human host defense system

May 24, 2012 by Works with Water

A recent article on www.sciencedaily.com highlights the benefits of Lactoferrin, a powerful protein that can be found in human biofluids such as tears, blood and saliva and also in milk, describing it as the ‘Swiss army knife’ of the human host defense system.

It is also the key ingredient in ‘help: clear skin’, our natural skin supplement from UK brand Works with Water Nutraceuticals that helps to reduce spots and blemishes from the inside out.

Due to its many beneficial activities associated with lactoferrin, researchers are starting to use it as a potential therapeutic protein. And, in contrast to many other therapeutic proteins, which need to be injected into patients, lactoferrin can be taken orally.

“We now know that lactoferrin is a protein that has many functions in innate immunity and that it plays a role in protecting us from bacterial, viral, fungal, and protozoal infections. It can even protect us from some forms of cancer,” says special issue guest editor Dr. Hans Vogel, a professor at the University of Calgary. “Some people describe this protein as the ‘Swiss army knife’ of the human host defense system.”

Comment from Jules Birch, founder of UK brand Works with Water Nutraceuticals:

“ Lactoferrin may not yet be a well-known ingredient to the general public, but it’s one of the most effective proteins to help boost the immune system, help protect the body against bacterial infections and to promote skin healing. Clinical studies have shown that taking a lactoferrin supplement can also help clear acne, which is why it is the key ingredient in our acne product ‘help: clear skin’. Lactoferrin can be found in milk, but cow’s milk only has a trace of this protein, which means you would need to drink an impossibly massive amount of milk daily to achieve any benefit, so the best way of consuming an effective dose of lactoferrin is by taking an oral soluble supplement such as help: clear skin as each daily dosage contains a minimum of 160mg of lactoferrin.”